Top Colleges in Illinois for 2019-20

Methodology and Sources

Welcome to OnlineColleges.com’s Top Colleges Tool 2019-20. Using the most recent final data available from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we ranked more than 2,500 accredited colleges and universities on a variety of factors, including affordability, student services and the availability of online programs. The result is a list of the best online colleges in the U.S. that is built into this interactive tool.

The filters on the left let you create customized lists of schools based on the factors that are most important to you, including location, price and religious affiliation. Choosing the right school is the first step toward success in higher education, and we’re excited to help you get started.

Browse Online Colleges in Illinois by selecting filters that matter to you most

Using the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we generated a list of colleges and universities that met the following criteria:

Level of institution is either "Four or more years" or "At least 2 but less than 4 years"

Data is reported for all 11 ranking variables listed in the Methodology section

At least 1 percent of students are taking at least some of the classes via distance education

"Number of programs offered via distance education" was an integer greater than 0

We ranked the resulting 1,813 colleges on 11 criteria, using provisional 2017-18 data from IPEDS:

Number of programs offered via distance education

Ratio of students participating fully or partially in DE to Total Enrollment

Average in-state tuition for undergraduates

Total electronic library collections, including digital books, databases, and media

Graduation rate

Retention rate

The availability of any tuition plans (Payment, Guaranteed, Other)

Services (Academic/Career, Placement for Completers)

Credit offerings (Dual, Life, AP, Military)

Percent of undergraduate students awarded federal, state, local, institutional or other sources of grant aid

Average amount of federal, state, local, institutional, or other sources of grant aid awarded to undergraduate students

All schools were scored on a 10-point scale for each of the points listed above. Individual data point scores were then multiplied by their respective weights, and the scores were added together, for a maximum possible score of 10 points.

NOTE: Schools' tuition amounts are based on 2017-18 undergraduate and graduate data reported to the National Center for Education Statistics. The actual cost of tuition may vary.